G7 Summit Cornwall: Protesters set off on walk from Plymouth to Carbis Bay

  • Watch Claire Manning's report

Around eighty activists have set off from Plymouth Hoe on a six-day walk to Carbis Bay in Cornwall ahead of the G7 summit.

The protestors say they want world leaders at the summit to put the climate emergency top of their agenda.

"My main reason I'm doing this is to give people an opportunity to do something to make their voices heard," protestor Kirsten Kratz explained.

"What I hear a lot is that people feel really disempowered and I would say the biggest remedy for being disempowered is doing something no matter how small it is."

Those taking part in the walk come from a number of different environmental campaign groups including Extinction Rebellion.

Protestors gather before beginning their walk. Credit: ITV News

The international movement says its aim is to use non-violent, direct action to persuade governments to act now and reduce greenhouse emissions to net-zero by 2025.

"Time is running out," Sylvia Dell from the Totnes & Local XR Group told ITV News.

"In 2018, the United Nations told us we had twelve years, so that was nearly three years ago this is the final few years if we leave it beyond that we will have reached irreversible tipping points, there will be no going back at the moment we have this tiny window where we can make a difference."

Some of those taking part are only walking some of the 84-mile route, but along the way they will be joined by other individuals and groups.

"It is our futures that are at risk and we are standing up for the generations beneath us that their futures will be impacted by the leaders of today's decisions," protestor Lisa Hoerning added.

"I think that doing a protest such as this is really important to raise awareness of the global climate crisis." 

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